“He knows that he can’t get Fran’s group or us to vote for him at all,” Jeanne said. “It’s the smartest thing he’s done in, well, forever.”
“Yeah, but, here’s the other weird part,” Nick said. “He said that if he wins, he’ll find out who didn’t vote for him and put them on the other team from him.”
“So he can beat them up,” Tegan said.
“But he already knows who’s not going to vote for him,” Jeanne said. “So why–”
“He’s lying,” Gene said. “He hasn’t figured out how to find out who voted for who, so he’s making it look like he’ll know.”
“That’s why he didn’t beat you up,” Jeanne said. “He wanted you to tell us.”
“I’m sorry, guys,” Nick said. Tegan put her hand on his shoulder. “I figured that it couldn’t hurt.”
“It won’t,” Gene said. “If we’re gonna stop him, we need to figure this out fast. We need to go find Fran. Do you know where she hangs out?”
“Usually over by the shed,” Jeanne said. “What are you thinking about?”
“The way I see it,” Gene said, “Deacon just messed up big time. He’s messing with the way people decide. I can’t figure out how he’s going to win by telling people not to vote for him, but that gives us a better chance to tell Mr. Walsh about what he’s doing.”